Economic Opportunities for Women in the Pacific - Case - IFC

Sheree has rising costs, she says that as long as the bank is
satisfied with the business and her demonstrated record of
performance, she will retain a satisfactory access to credit.
Sheree believes that having a good relationship with her
Bank Manager has made it easier to gain access to finance.
The combination of lack of hairdressing and beauty salon
training, and the lack of standards in the industry has made
business difficult for Sheree, and it is getting harder for
her to do business in Samoa. She brings in staff and trains
them on the job, on hair colour and washing. However, she
has quite a high staff turnover, with staff often leaving and
setting up their own business nearby once they have been
trained and charging half the price of her service.
Sheree only drafts contracts for her staff if she is to invest
significant money into training and retraining the staff. For
example, she obtained a Fijian masseuse who works for her
business on Savai’i Island in Samoa. She has a contract in
place for the masseuse, although she admits that this was
also required by the Samoan Labour Department as Sheree
was employing someone from overseas.
Staff identification and retention is made harder due to the
lack of standards for hairdressing in Samoa and the ease of
gaining a business licence according to Sheree.
Recent start-up hair salons need to fill in an application
form, be inspected by the Health Department and pay WST
$220 for a business license (if a sole trader), or WST $550
for a license if registering a company. They are not asked if
they have any qualifications though, which when dealing
with harsh chemicals, dyes, and hot wax, Sheree thinks is
irresponsible.
Economic Opportunities for Women in the Pacific
Sheree believes the government should ask for and check
on qualifications before granting a license for this sector.
The whole process to register and receive the license takes
about 2 days.
On training, Sheree has brought in expertise to develop
skills and expertise in Samoa. She brought in a beauty
therapist from Fiji from the South Pacific Academy for her
staff. For this, $8,000 Tala was paid by NZAID, and Sheree
paid for the therapist’s airfare and accommodation. There
is no training in hairdressing/beauty therapy in Samoa,
although the demand for other trades training is in part
being met by the Australia-Pacific Training College (APTC)
and the Samoan Polytech. “The problem in Samoa,” Sheree
says, “is that there are just not enough numbers of people
to justify these new courses.”
Next Steps Her motivation for being in business continues
to be her family. Sheree has four children, aged 14 to
27 years old. Two of her daughters are in Australia and
New Zealand. Her second daughter, Stefanie, has Down’s
Syndrome.
Sheree’s dreams to expand the Salon into a cosmetics line
of soaps developed from organically certified coconut virgin
oil. Her challenge is to find the most viable way to work
with coconut virgin oil and to ensure she produces a quality
product. By undertaking this expansion, Sheree hopes to
give Stefanie the chance to have some independence at
work, as Stefanie has a gift for aromas. Sheree could then
develop her own cosmetics range and oil to use in her
massage business.
In 2008, Sheree attended a food fair in Auckland and
learned about labeling and bottling options. Plans are
now beginning to form to build the cosmetics line, and as
her goal for 2009, Sheree is bringing a chemist from New
Zealand to Samoa. The Pacific Islands Trade and Investment
Commission (PITIC) have offered to pay 50 percent of the
costs. This will enable the chemist to view the oils and
assess what would be needed to develop the product.
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